Picking the right commodity out of college
Junior at non-target going into lumber trading internship this summer. Having some trouble figuring out which commodity to commit to out of college.
Lumber and energy ofc have had a fantastic time in recent years and this trend may continue somewhat. I’ve found tropical softs and metals recycling to be super interesting as well but not sure what actually has the best prospects.
Also, depending on the industry I’ve been seeing that you can actually become a trader straight out of college. Do you guys think I should prioritize that possibility over industry/product?
Go with what interests you the most. Commodities are cyclical so every category will have "its time" and you don't want to be stuck working in something you have zero interest in for 20+ years. You also don't need to commit to one commodity right away. While the specifics of each commodity/category are different, the basic supply/demand analyses are the same so you can transfer between commodities at some point, though it may require you to take a step back when you transfer and you will have a better shot if the commodities are somewhat linked.
Focus on learning the business. A lot of the trading right out of college stuff I have seen is really bullshit. Some sort of small fund that gives you their "system" and that relies on you to execute it. You will learn nothing doing this and it's not a good setup to get a role at a bigger/better place.
what are your thoughts on transferring between products? eg. equities or fixed income to commodities? doable out of an s&t / junior program, or still very difficult?
I don't really know. At a relatively junior level, I think it would be possible because you aren't going up against people with a ton of experience. I would consider hiring someone that came from one of those backgrounds into commodities but that's just me. At any sort of senior level, I think it would be incredibly difficult unless you were willing to essentially start over and take a huge pay cut.
I'm also outside of the banking industry/world so there's not nearly as much structure. In companies that have a very structured system for promotions and job changes, I think it would be more difficult because you are essentially breaking that structure by changing products.
Just want to stress that I really don't know since I think this is truly a question that will be very dependent on the place you are looking at the person doing the hiring.
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